The present invention relates to combination operated padlocks of the type typically used to secure luggage during travel and transport. More particularly, the present invention relates to combination operated luggage padlocks that also may be operated by a key to facilitate inspection of the contents of luggage. Specifically, the present invention relates to providing combination and key operated luggage padlocks and the like with a resettable indicator to advise the owners of luggage that the locks on their bags have been opened by means of a key for inspection—an indicator that preferably can be reset only by the owners after they have opened the locks by entering their combinations.
When the Transportation Security Administration took over the handling of airport security in accordance with the Homeland Security Act, the intensified effort made by federal employees to inspect the locked bags of airline passengers often resulted in the destruction of luggage padlocks when the shackles thereof were severed to permit inspection of luggage contents. The destruction of luggage padlocks unfortunately leaves inspected bags unlocked, with their contents subject to pilfer and theft during travel and transport.
To accommodate the need of travelers for post-inspection luggage security while also accommodating the need of government employees to quickly and easily open and inspect selected and suspect bags, a proposal has been advanced by an entity known as Travel Sentry for providing government personnel with “override keys” for nondestructively opening consumer owned, combination operated luggage padlocks that have built-in “key override” features. In accordance with the proposal of Travel Sentry, combination operated luggage padlocks having a “key override” capability are to be made by a number of padlock manufacturers. These padlocks may be purchased by consumers for locking their luggage; and, if their locked bags are inspected by government personnel, the padlocks will be opened for baggage inspection using keys that are made available to government inspectors (but not to the owners of the padlocks), and then will be relocked by the inspectors. Bags inspected and relocked in this manner will have their contents secured by the same combination operated padlocks that were installed on the bags by the owners thereof.
Padlocks that can be operated by combination and by key are not new. Combination padlocks have been used for many years on gym lockers in schools, with coaches and principals having keys that can open these padlocks should lockers need to be inspected, or should a padlock be snapped closed on an incorrect locker by mistake or by prank. It also is known to provide combination padlocks with keys so that their owners may elect whether to open the locks by entry of a combination, or by using a key.
It is not completely new to provide a padlock with some form of indicator. For example, padlocks (that are not of the type that can be opened both by combination and by key) have been provided with indicators that are intended to prevent accidental resettings of the combinations of the locks, or that are intended to reflect when the padlocks are incompletely or improperly relocked after being opened. However, prior proposals relating to padlocks of the type that can be opened by combination or by key have not taught or suggested the provision of indicators designed to advise the owners of the locks that the luggage on which the padlocks are installed has been inspected by opening the padlocks with a key.